The future of district heating in Eastern European countries : The case of Brasov, Romania

In a case study, progRESsHEAT project partners analyse possible future scenarios for the city of Brasov, Romania. Like in many other cities in Eastern Europe, a district heating system exists in the city, however it is facing severe challenges like old and inefficient infrastructure and loss of consumers due to unreliability of supply over the last decades.

[This scientific paper] assesses the impact of different policies on the feasibility of renewable and efficient heating under various conditions and suggests favourable policy frameworks to ensure an economically- and ecologically-viable future heating system for the city.

The aim of [their] work was to a) identify technical solutions for increasing the efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the heating systems of the city of Brasov at minimal costs, and b) assess the effect of various policies to enforce the use of renewable energy in the heating system. Based on the results for the city of Brasov, conclusions should be drawn also for other Eastern European countries in similar situations.

The progRESsHEAT project ended in October 2017. Funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, it aimed at ensuring a quick and efficient deployment of renewables in heating and cooling networks by assisting local, regional, national and EU political leaders in developing policy and strategies.
All analyses, city case studies, training materials, policy recommendations and webinar recordings are available on the project website at www.progressheat.eu.

Brasov, Romania, has been a member of Energy Cities since 2001. Discover their energy transition best-practices in our cities' actions database!

© photo Alessio Damato - CC BY-SA 3.0